Riders of motorized vehicles, including but not limited to motorcycles, all terrain vehicles and the like, depend on foot supports or foot pegs to generally maintain balance, assist in maneuvering the motorized vehicle, and to shift the rider's weight from side to side. The foot support protrudes laterally from the motorized vehicle and connects to the frame of the motorized vehicle through a mounting bracket attached to the motorized vehicle frame. The mounting bracket typically consists of two spaced apart lobes or bosses.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a foot support that is of a prior art design, and which is adapted for engagement with a mounting bracket on the motorized vehicle (not shown). Foot support 10 has a mounting member 12 that extends from one end of the foot support 10. The mounting member 12 has a protrusion 14, typically cylindrical in shape, that projects outwardly from the mounting member 12, and is adapted for pivotable engagement with the mounting bracket on the motorized vehicle.
A problem with the current design of foot supports exists, however, in that the fixed relationship of mounting member and protrusion result in the foot support being confined to one position laterally relative to the mounting bracket position on the motorized vehicle. Thus, regardless if you are a rider who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall or a rider that stands five feet four inches tall, for example, the rider's feet are confined to the same position relative to the mounting bracket. This results in certain comfort, safety and ergonomic issues for riders, depending on their height and riding preferences. It has been found that even a slight adjustment of the foot support either upward or downward relative to the mounting bracket can dramatically improve the riders comfort, ergonomics and improve the ability to more readily maneuver the motorized vehicle.
One solution to this problem has been to cut off the protrusion 14 from mounting member 12, thereby effectively creating a spacer (not shown) that can be used to consume the gap between the mounting member and the mounting bracket to prevent unnecessary axial movement. The foot support can be raised or lowered relative to the mounting bracket by placement of the spacer on either the bottom side of the mounting member or the top side respectively. Though this solves the problem of allowing for different foot support positions, it has been found that there is a problem with this design in that the pin used to secure the foot support to the mounting bracket is placed under significant stress as and is prone to breaking. The only way to solve this problem has been to use high-tempered hardened steel or other stronger materials for the pin, which results in a higher cost.
It is therefore desirable to take advantage of a foot support that has multiple positions given the same mounting bracket location on the motorized vehicle, without requiring a hardened pin for securing the foot support.